8yo girls must wear shorts under skirts...

[MyFirstMyLastMyEverythingBagel]

... In order to play on the bars in the school playground?!
My 8yo DD came home from school yesterday upset as she wasn't allowed to play on them - the teacher had said she needed to have shorts on as the boys would see her knickers.
I'm really upset by this, she is 8 years old and has a life time ahead of her to be worrying about modesty/body image without the school instilling it in her at 8. We've had a lovely summer, much of it spent splashing in the river / sea, DD totally in self aware in her knickers and a t shirt.
I'm actually pretty cross and plan to speak to the head about it, but want to know if iabu? How would you feel about it? My child is a child and I don't feel she should be made to feel self conscious about a brief knicker flash when she is playing.

[ErrolTheDragon]

YANBU. Knickers are sufficient coverage for a prepubescent child.

If some little boys are behaving inappropriately around girls in the playground, then the head should be addressing that, not limiting the girls.

[ErrolTheDragon]

And to be clear, a little boy seeing a little girls knickers isn't inappropriate, but bullying/shaming behaviours would be.

[pleasemothermay1]

I would remind the school were not in frigging Iran and knickers cover the lady well enough

No your not

[Itrytoohard]

It was a rule when my 16 year old DD was at primary school too. If you wanted to do anything like hand stands, cartwheels, playing on the play equipment, you have to be wearing tights or shorts under your skirt or dress.

At primary school age I just don't think it's necessary.

[BossWitch]

That is appalling. If the school thinks skirts are not suitable attire for all of the activities that they offer to ALL pupils in the course of the school day, they should not be uniform. This is telling girls that they have something to hide, that they have to modify their behaviour in light of any/all male gaze, that they are things to be looked at above all else. I'd be up there like a shot- and I'm a teacher, not inclined to pick random fights with schools. The more I think about this, the angrier I get. Christ on a fucking bike. 8!

[MrsMook]

Are girls able to wear uniform shorts? That would be a more equal policy.

[fieldfare]

I assume they let the boys wear regular school shorts?
Is this an option for the girls or have they got to wear skirts or summer dresses?
Knickers are perfectly adequate coverage for an 8 yr old girl. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous. If there is an issue with boys teasing etc then that's what should be addressed, not the girls being made to feel immodest!

We got around a similar issue when dd was at primary by a new rule allowing girls to wear school shorts and regular assemblies covering positive body image and how we treat others etc.

[Planty18]

That is horrendous. Agree they should be looking at why this would be an issue at all. They're 8!

[ninenicknames]

YANBU - totally stupid

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

You have the Kardashians splashed out everywhere in nothing but a bit plastic, yet children have to wear modesty shorts under their skirts.

I fail to see any logic in this.

[LeifTheLucky]

My Dd is 5 and came home a while ago asking for shorts to go under her school summer dress because she didn't want anyone to see her knickers.
I did buy her some because she was really uncomfortable about it.

One of her friends was sad one day and told me that she wasn't allowed to do cartwheels or handstands at lunchtime because the lunchtime supervisor had told them they could only do it if they wear shorts! They are 5!

They are allowed to wear trousers though or uniform shorts if they want.

[YelloDraw]

YANBU. Knickers are sufficient coverage for a prepubescent child.

^ This

[budgiegirl]

I can remember when I was at primary school (many years ago) we did indoor PE lessons in our vest and knickers! How things have changed!

[CafeCremeEtCroissant]

Me to BudgieGirl

I'd be telling to school to rethink this too & explaining to them why. Idiots.

[EllieHandMeDownBaby]

YANBU
Utterly ridiculous and you're right to go and have words with the head.

I'm already getting annoyed that shorts aren't on the girls' summer school uniform list and my daughter isn't even at school yet! This type of thing really riles me.

[gallicgirl]

I bet boys and girls all get changed for PE in the same classroom though.

[JudyCoolibar]

This is discriminatory. Why should girls have to wear an extra layer of clothing under their uniform, particularly in hot weather, when they do not make boys do so?

If anyone sees a child's knickers, they will see not one jot more than they saw on the beach this summer with children and adults wearing swimming costumes. The school really needs to get over itself.

[Omgkitties]

When I was in primary we wasn't allowed shorts under our clothes and no one cared if we was flashing our knickers while playing. Can't believe that's a rule now.

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

I was in the middle of writing school uniforms need to consist of shorts and trousers, and then stopped and thought about 4 yo DD who loves wearing skirts. I love wearing skirts. And if I agree that children should be wearing shorts/trousers then I am agreeing that there's something inappropriate about seeing an 8 year-old's pants. Gaah.

[MoonfaceAndSilky]

Absolutely ridiculous.

[Dogcatred]

It's really silly and unfair.
In some religions they have to wear long under wear - Mormons
At our local primary little girls come out every day with even heads covered - Muslims.

We need to fight very hard to preserve how things are here in the UK
So what if someone seems a girl's knickers?

We are getting far far too modest a culture these days.

[trafalgargal]

Depends where the bars are, if they can be seen playing from the road then any passing adult can see them then I don't think it's unreasonable to protect them from the stares of any passing pervert.

I remember at primary school I wouldn't do handstands in the playground because I preferred not to flash my knickers at anyone walking past. I'd have happily done it if we'd had the option to wear shorts underneath. More hildren are just more modest than others and don't want to show off their own or see others knickers.

[deathtoheadlice]

Our after school club has this rule and wouldn't let dd do gymnastics (at 7yo!!) without shorts. I didn't think it was a battle I'd end up winning. So, while I totally agree with all of you that it should NOT be necessary, I did end up buying dance shorts for 6£ (Debenhams). Easy, cheap, practical, and of course then they don't need the skirt/dress if they don't want it. Our school's uniform is just the shirt and they wear jeans / high st uniform / whatever skirts or trousers with it, so they can wear these if it's warm.

In your position, though, because you were told it was in case boys saw or did something, I'd talk to the school about challenging the default that girls should modify or reduce their (active and healthy) behaviour because of boys. It's offensive. Obviously.

[ShanghaiDiva]

I also did PE in knickers and vest back in the 1970s.
Agree with pp - ridiculous.

[myfavouritecolourispurple]

I would write to the school and say that in the 21st century it is not acceptable for rules to be set about what girls and women can wear. I have no issues with a uniform as long as there are no silly rules about girls not wearing trousers etc, but this is more than that.

If of course they let the boys wear skirts and ask them to wear shorts underneath, that's fine ;)